U.S. clout hurt by Iraq War, scholar says

LONDON, March 14 (UPI) -- The aftermath of the U.S.-led military campaign in Iraq has left Washington with diminished clout in the region, a Middle East scholar write.

Wednesday marks the 10th anniversary of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq. Following the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States, the U.S. government said Saddam Hussein's alleged weapons program was too great of a threat to ignore.

Fawaz Gerges, a Middle East scholar at the London School of Economics, writes in the Chatham House journal International Affairs that geopolitical developments since al-Qaida's attacks on the United States have curtailed U.S. influence.

"A global redistribution of power has curtailed America's freedom of maneuver and exposed its relative decline," he writes. "The Iraq debacle has undermined not only America's moral standing and credibility but also its deterrence strategy."

Iraq has had a series of democratic elections and its oil sector is rebounding since U.S. forces helped remove Saddam Hussein from power. Various political disputes and threats of terrorism, however, are undermining post-war development.

Gerges adds that the democratic reforms in the Middle East, dubbed the Arab Spring, have left the United States without the key regional allies it relied on in the past.

Last week, Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction Stuart Bowen issued his final report to Congress. He said that despite a 10-year engagement that cost the United States $60 billion, Iraqi leaders said they were uncertain if the effort was worth the expense.

United Press International is a leading provider of news, photos and information to millions of readers around the globe via UPI.com and its licensing services.

With a history of reliable reporting dating back to 1907, today’s UPI is a credible source for the most important stories of the day, continually updated - a one-stop site for U.S. and world news, as well as entertainment, trends, science, health and stunning photography. UPI also provides insightful reports on key topics of geopolitical importance, including energy and security.

A Spanish version of the site reaches millions of readers in Latin America and beyond.

UPI was founded in 1907 by E.W. Scripps as the United Press (UP). It became known as UPI when after a merger with the International News Service in 1958, which was founded in 1909 by William Randolph Hearst. Today, UPI is owned by News World Communications.